Foot-operated door-opener.



PATENTEDISEPT. 25, 1906.

J. M. VINGENT. FOOT OPERATED 11003 OPENER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY9,1996.

ITO-831,584.-

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WITNESSESf .INVENTOR. By

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. VINCENT, OF rIRARD, KANSAS. I

FbQT-FOPERATED DOOR-OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, 1906.

Application filed.Ju1y 9,1906. Serial No. 325,355.

To all whom it may concern:

. provide an extremely strong, simple, durable,

inexpensive, and thoroughly eficient mechanism of the .character described which is adapted to be carried entirely by the door and to project from both sides thereof, so as to 1 enable the door to be opened from either side,

and which is so balanced that the ordinary bolt-spring of the door-lock will be sufficient to maintain the door-opening mechanism always in proper position to be engaged by the foot in the operation of unlocking the door and at the same time pulling or pushing the same to open ositionl With the oregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combiin the precise embodiment of invention herein 5 disclosed can be made within the scope ofthe following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door equipped with the imrovements of the present invention. Fig. 2 1s a side elevation, partly in section; and Fig. 3 is a I detail perspective view of the two clamping members constituting the lateral arm to be secured to the spindle of the doorlock. v

Like reference-numerals indicate corres onding parts in the different figures of the d f'awings.

The reference-numeral 1 mdlcates a door,

which may be of any suitable size, shape, and

proportions. The door 1 is provided with any suitable kind of lock 2, having an internally-arranged spring-actuated bolt, which it is not deemed necessary to illustrate. The spring-actuated bolt of the lock 2 is adapted to be retracted in the ordinary way by the spindle 3, which is provided at the opposite ends thereof with the door-knobs 4, it being understood that by rotating the door-knobs 4 in one direction or the other the spring-actuated bolt of the door-lock will be retracted so as to permit the door to be opened.

The im roved mechanism which Ihave provided or opening the door from either 7 side thereof consists of a foot member 5, ex

tending through a narrow vertical slot 6,

formed in the door 1 adjacent the lower end thereof. The foot member 5 is pivotally mounted in the slot 6 in any suitable mannersuch, for example, as by means of the hinge 7, one leaf of which is rigidly connected with the foot member 5, while the other leaf is suitably screwed or otherwise secured to the It will be apparent that the hinge 7 door. permits eitherend of the foot member 5 to be rocked either upward or downward by the foot. The hinge 7 preferably is connected with the foot member 5 at a point located away from the center thereof for the'purpose ofbalancing the door-opening mechanism, as will hereinafter ap ear. Pivotally connected with the short en of the foot member 5 is an operating-rod 8, the upper end of which is suitably connected with a lateral arm upon thespindle 3, so that when the operating-rod is moved either upward or downward the spindle will be rotated so as to retract the spring-actuated bolt, and thus unlock the door. The preferred form of lateral arm upon the spindle 6 consists of a pair of parallel clamping-plates 9 10, which are fitted against the'opposite flat surfaces of the spindle 3 and are held firmly thereagainst by means of bolts or other devices 1 1. The upper clamping-plate 9 has the end 12 thereof extended beyond the adjacent end of the lower plate 10 and twisted at a right angle, so as to receive the upper end of the operating-rod 8, which extends through a suitable perforation in said twisted IIO therefore, that by engaging either end of the foot member 5 with the toe and either push wardly-bent ends 14. When a person apsame he unlocks the door.

proaches the door from the side which will necessitate his drawing the same toward him,

he engages his toe beneath the adjacent bent end 14 of the foot member, and by raising the It is then only necessary to move his foot backward so as to draw the door open. In approaching the door from the opposite side it will be only necessary to push the foot member downward and then shove it forward, so as to swing the door open. It will be understood, however, that the door can be opened from either side by engaging the toe beneath the foot member and raising it upward.

A'great advantage of the present form of door-opening mechanism resides in the fact that it can be easily and quickly applied to practically any form of door by merely cutting the slot 6 in the lower end thereof and attaching the hinge 7, after which the clamping-plates 9 and 10 can be readily secured to the spindle 3 and the operating-rodi8 placed in position.

. What is claimed is {3 .1- The combination of a door having a slot, a hinge having one leaf connected with the door and the other leaf disposed at one end of said slot, a lever connected with the last-mentioned leaf of said hinge and extending through said slot, -and door-opening mechanism operated by said lever.

2. The combination of a door having a slot and a spring-actuated lock, an operating-rod connected with said lock, and a foot-lever pivotally connected with said operating-rod, said foot-lever extending through said slot and being pivotally mounted at one end thereof, said foot-lever and rod being so balanced as to be held in proper position by said spring-actuated lock.

. 8. The combination of a door having a spring-actuated look, a spindle connected withsaid lock, a lateral arm connected with said spindle and consisting of a pair of clamping-plates secured in parallel position against the opposite sides of said spindle, one of said plates having a twisted end, an operatingrod connected with said twisted end, a foot member pivotally connected with said operating-rod and extending through a slot in said door, said foot membenhaving downward-bent ends, and a hinge connected with said door and with said foot member at a point away from the center thereof, whereby the long end of said foot member counterbalances the weight of the operating-rod so as to permit the same to be held in proper position by the spring-lock.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. VINCENT.

Witnesses G. FRED BECK, J. F. JONES. 

